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City Region Deals: A good deal for sustainable transport?

Ahead of today’s debate in Parliament on the City Region Deals, we’ve issued a briefing to MSPs expressing our concerns about the Deals.

The briefing outlines several key points:

City Region Deals (CRDs) have the potential to improve sustainable transport in Scotland’s cities, but must be more transparent and should improve their public engagement

All projects should be subject to an equality and sustainability assessment

All CRDs should be subject to a review process, as is the case with the Glasgow CRD

The CRDs should prioritise investment in reliable, convenient and affordable public transport, walking and cycling projects

Commenting on the City Region Deals, Jamie Wylie, Spokesperson for Transform Scotland, said:

“From the CRDs agreed so far, it appears that transport projects have largely focused on road building. Forexample, the LGC Committee’s report points out that the Edinburgh CRD saw the Sheriffhall Roundaboutproject receive significant investment, whilst the the Levenmouth Rail Link – a project which would deliversignificant benefits in Fife and beyond – was not selected. This raises serious questions about the criteria used for project selection.

“At a time when the Scottish Government is failing to meet its targets on congestion, modal shift and air quality, the CRDs represent a unique opportunity to address these issues by investing in affordable, convenient and reliable public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure.”